i can't let the sun set on today without saying a few words about what a big week it has been in the murphy house.
ryan and i celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary on thursday. october 18th. our love story started in the back of 10th grade algebra....passing notes rather than paying attention to numbers and equations....and has grown 15+ years later into something more than i ever imagined when i first sat in that hardback plastic chair next to a certain cute redhead in class.
this past january we attended the wedding of dear friends. during the ceremony, the rabbi relayed a thought on marriage that said it all to me. in that beautiful temple, to a hushed audience, he addressed the couple saying "
many people will tell you that marriage is one of the most important things in your life. i believe that it is THE most important thing in your life for it is the foundation upon which you build everything else." i couldn't agree more. for better and for worse, in sickness and in health, through whatever life brings our way....i couldn't imagine a better man to have built my foundation with. the butterflies i used to feel as i walked to algebra class each day, in anticipation of seeing him there....they're still fluttering away :)
i love you, ryan. and i look forward to a lifetime of butterflies ahead.
2 days later....today....our sweet little Benjamin turned 1 year old. at this exact moment 1 year ago i was snuggling in a hospital bed with my brand new son swaddled in warm blankets and wrapped in my arms. i remember every moment of that day, just like with emma's birth, like it was yesterday. i remember waking early in the morning to shower and curl my hair. it was so silly and ryan teased me for it....but i wanted to look pretty to meet my son. labor was short and intense....in stark contrast to the pregnancy which seemed to last forever but was quite easy. at 1:26pm benjamin entered the world and i remember the overwhelming sense of completeness that washed over me. i remember feeling so awestruck with the way one's heart has enough room to love a second child as deeply, madly, and profoundly as the first. i remember his face and the way he smelled and how his hair, even then, had the softest hint of red. it was love at first sight....and i believe in that because i am a mom, their mom. that thing they say about moms and their sons....it is SO true. this past year has been the best year of my life with our family of four.
sweet benjamin, you have a magic about your soul that captures us all. i love you more than all the stars. happy first birthday, little one. we LOVE you SO!
{more to come on his "where the wild things are" themed first birthday. that is deserving of a post all it's own. as the picture above might suggest ben, and everyone else, had a wonderful time!}
